In a concurrently filed
verified notice of exemption, RP&P seeks Board approval to operate as a
common carrier approximately 27 miles of railroad (the Line) between Rusk and
Palestine, Tex.[2]The Line has no mileposts.It is currently owned by the Texas Parks and
Wildlife Authority and it is leased to the Texas State Railroad Authority, which
has entered into an operating agreement with American/RP&P.American had been operating a noncommon
carrier intrastate excursion passenger railroad over the Line using the name
Texas State Railroad.RP&P plans to
continue that service using the name Texas State Railroad and plans to restore
common carrier freight service over the Line using the name “Rusk, Palestine
& Pacific Railroad”.Rusk, Palestine & Pacific
R.R.—Operation Exemption—Tex. State R.R. Auth., Docket No. FD 35669.

The
transaction may be consummated on or after September 29, 2012 (the effective
date of the exemption).

IPH
and PBR subsidiary railroads include:(1) Chicago Terminal Railroad, located in and around Chicago, Ill.; (2)
Mount Hood Railroad, located in Oregon; (3) San Luis & Rio Grande Railroad,
located in Colorado; (4) Saratoga & North Creek Railway, located in New
York; (5) Texas-New Mexico Railroad, located in New Mexico and Texas; and (6)
West Texas & Lubbock Railway, located in Texas.IPH and PBR recently have obtained Board
authority to continue in control of a new noncarrier subsidiary in California,
the Santa Cruz and Monterey Bay Railway Company, upon its becoming a Class III
rail carrier.Iowa Pac. Holdings, LLC
and Permian Basin Rys.—Continuance in Control
Exemption—Santa Cruz and Monterey Bay Ry., FD 35632 (STB served Aug. 17,
2012).

IPH
and PBR represent that:(1) the Line does
not connect with any other railroads in the corporate family; (2) the
transaction is not part of a series of anticipated transactions that would
connect the Line with any other railroads in the corporate family; and (3) the
transaction does not involve a Class I rail carrier.Therefore, the transaction is exempt from the
prior approval requirements of 49 U.S.C. § 11323.See 49 C.F.R. § 1180.2(d)(2).

Under 49 U.S.C. §
10502(g), the Board may not use its exemption authority to relieve a rail
carrier of its statutory obligation to protect the interests of its
employees.Section 11326(c), however,
does not provide for labor protection for transactions under §§ 11324 and
11325 that involve only Class III rail carriers.Accordingly, the Board may not impose labor
protective conditions here, because all of the carriers involved are Class III
carriers.

If the verified
notice contains false or misleading information, the exemption is void ab initio.Petitions to revoke the exemption under 49 U.S.C. § 10502(d) may be
filed at any time.The filing of a
petition to revoke will not automatically stay the effectiveness of the
exemption.Stay petitions must be filed no later
than September 21, 2012 (at least seven days before the exemption becomes
effective).

An original and 10 copies of all pleadings, referring to Docket
No. FD 35668, must be filed with the Surface
Transportation Board, 395 E Street, S.W., Washington, DC20423-0001.In addition, one copy of each pleading must be served on John D.
Heffner, Strasburger & Price, LLP, 1700 K Street, N.W., Suite 640, Washington, DC20006.

Board decisions and notices are
available on our website at “WWW.STB.DOT.GOV.”

[2]RP&P also
seeks incidental trackage rights for the purpose of interchange over
approximately 1.3 miles of track owned and operated by the Union Pacific
Railroad Company (UP) that connects to UP’s rail yard in Palestine, Tex.